What's In My Bag?

Sorry for the severe lack of posts recently. I’ve been super busy with work and just had so little time to plan and write some posts. But I’m back now and I am going to try really hard to fit in some blogging time in my day to give you some more regular posts to read.

It’s probably because I’m quite nosy but I love reading other bloggers ‘What’s in my bag?’ posts and hence, decided to do one of my own.

I always tend to change the bag I carry around with me quite often. Currently, I’m using my Zara plaited leather shopper that I got about 2 months ago. I’m a huge fan of oversized bags and this one is perfect. However, it can get quite heavy with all the stuff I collect and lug around with me, particularly on a shopping spree.

Zara Plaited Shopper

Here is what I carry around with me on a typical day:

• Really old Accessorize purse (really need a new purse!)
• 2011 diary
• Notebook
• Pen
• Bottle of water
• Tissues
• Cath Kidston make up bag
• Tissues
• Viva La Juicy Perfume
• Body spray
• Hair comb
• Hair grips

xo Hannah xo

New in my shop - Arty Inspired Rings

As promised, my Arty inspired rings are now available in my shop! They come in red, black and turquoise and are selling fast. A big thank you to everyone who have already bought one!

Turqouise, Black and Red Arty Inspired Gold Tone Rings - £6 each

I have always loved the YSL Arty rings, and these make perfect substitutes at just a tiny fraction of the price and make perfect Christmas gifts for your friends and family (or yourself!)

Unfortunately, because they have been so popular, I only have black and red rings available in small (which fits perfectly on my ring finger) and turquoise in large (which fits well on my index finger)

Please feel free to check out my shop here.

I hope you like them!

xo Hannah xo

My Favourite Nail Art Inspirations

I very rarely see my nails nude, always paintinig my nails at least twice a week. However, I always tend to play it safe and go for just one block colour and I have always wanted to be more a bit more creative and experimental. After my nude polka dot nail art which I photographed in this post, I decided to gain some inspiration for my next nail art project.

Here are some of my favourite nail art inspirations.

Leopard

Probably one of my favourite nail arts! Ever since I saw the lovely Lauren Conrad with leopard print nails probably about a year ago, I have wanted to try them out. They are meant to be quite simple to do, which is perfect for me!

Vintage Florals

Maybe its because I work at Cath Kidston but I love floral prints on just about anything! Floral prints have been everywhere recently from dresses to trousers and now I really want them on my nails too! Vintage floral is probably my favourite nail art and these are some of my favourite floral designs which I think will be tricky to do and certainly a step up from my simple polka dots, but they are so pretty and look fabulous!

Ombre

Very simple and quick to do with no little fiddly details but still very effective is my kind of nail art!

Spots and Stripes

Again, fairly simple to do but oh so effective with so many variations and colour combinations to be used.

Christmas

Of course, with the festive season fast approaching, I found some cute Christmas inspired nail arts to share with you and its the perfect excuse to get creative. Absolutely love the glittery green one in particular!

Miscellaneous

All photos from WeHeartIt.com

What are your favourite nail designs?

xo Hannah xo

New Arrivals to my shop

I’ve always wanted to design my own jewellery and have recently started to make my own necklaces and bracelets to sell to friends and family and I’ve had some positive feedback so today I have started to get some of the jewellery that I have been selling recently up on my blog shop to share with you so please feel free to take a look here or using the link on the side.

Short Vintage Bronze key charm necklace - £4
Arty Inspired Large stone ring - £6
Long Vintage Bronze key charm necklace - £6.50
Mixture of Vintage Turquoise stone rings - £3.50

There isn't a lot up at the moment and I'm still waiting for my Arty Inspired rings (that I'm wearing in this post) to arrive, but it shouldn't be too much longer before I can make them available :)

  

I will try to add more to either this shop or my Etsy shop soon as I have lots more to share with all you lovely people!

Hope everyones having a good week!

xo Hannah xo

Todays Nails – Nude polka dots

I’m only just starting to get into the whole nail art thing. I’ve not got a very steady hand so whenever I try a design it usually ends up looking rubbish! But today I thought I’d do something simple and do a fairly subtle polka dot nail design.

Nails - Nails Inc Caramel and white nail art pen
Ring - A Wardrobe Full of Dreams shop (Coming soon)

The base colour is Nails Inc Caramel which I got free a while ago with 2 bottles of diet coke in Boots. I tend to wear nude colours on my nails and this is currently one of my favourites as it goes on really easily and lasts for several days without chipping.

I did the polka dots using the white nail art pen from a set of 24 nail art pens that I bought from this seller on ebay after seeing Lily review them on her blog. It was only really the black, white and brown colours that I was after (to try leopard print nails) and for £10 I think they are definitely worth the price for simple nail art designs especially when the Models Own pens are £6 each.

What's your favourite nail art design?

xo Hannah xo 

Wishlist - Topshop Special

I'm a big fan of Topshop, always have been and probably always will be as there is always something that catched my eye whether I'm in the shop or just browsing on their site.

This weeks wishlist is dedicated to Topshop and contains quite a random mixture of things that I'm loving at the moment. Time to start saving!



All images Topshop.com

1 - Spot Mesh Cutout Bodycon Dress (£45) - I'm loving polka dots at the moment. This dress is very Stella McCartney and the perfect party dress. It's a simple LBD but with a current on trend twist

2 – Burgundy Spot Fit And Flare Dress (£34) - Another little polka dot number. I actually have this dress in navy and absolutely love the style and fit and wear it all the time to work so I was very happy when I saw they have brought it out in this lovely burgundy colour. The top and sleeves are nice and fitted, it clinches in at the waist and then has a skater style skirt.

 

3 – Silver Metallic Pleat Maxi Skirt (£40) - Not sure how much wear I would get out of this spectacular maxi skirt but I LOVE it. I became a big fan of the maxi skirt over the summer as they are really easy to wear and this one is perfect for Christmas but I will have to think hard about the different ways to wear it before I buy it!

 

4 – Black Velvet Flippy Skirt (£34) - LOVING velvet too this season. I have the black velvet polka dot dress that I blogged about here and fell in love with this luxurious wintery material. This skirt can be worn in so many ways so I think it's a perfect investment!

 

5 – Burgundy MOTO Leigh Supersoft Skinny Jeans (£38) - I've gone off my jeans a bit recently, prefering to wear dresses, but I like the burgundy colour of these jeans . I've seen loads of people wearing them and think they look great but I'm not sure if they will suit me so I will have to try them on first I think.

 

6 – Lace Tee (£34) - Quite simple but a pretty little tee, perfect for teaming with a high waisted skirt or jeans.

 

7 – Black AMBUSH Side Zip Boots (£75) - I've been wanting some simple black ankle boots for ages and I've had my eye on these beauties for quite a while now but I've never got round to justifying £75 for them. I think they'll be good for work though because the heels aren't too big and I've heard people say how comfortable they are.

 

8 – Black Premium Leather Skirt (£75) - Again, another skirt where I'm not sure how much wear I will get out of but yet another lust!

What's on your wishlist for this week?

xo Hannah xo

Happiness is...(Part 2)

Having another negative day today so thought I’d try to help lift my mood and positivity with Part 2 of Happiness is…

This week, happiness is…

1. Matilda – cutest film ever, it always puts a smile on my face!

2. Meeting an old friend on the way home from work

3. New stationary

4. Shops starting to feel Christmasy

5. WeHeartIt.com

6. Decluttering my room

7. Having a lie-in for the first time in ages

8. Baking

9. Walking with my dog in the Autumn sunshine, wrapping up warm and kicking the leaves

10. Receiving an unexpected lovely email :)

All images from WeHeartIt.com

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

xo Hannah xo

Recent Buys 02

I’ve had a fairly busy week this week with work and other commitments, and whilst I haven't had chance to go shopping, I still managed to do a bit of online shopping. I love online shopping but I’m always worried about the clothes not fitting properly or the quality is not as good I thought. But having said that, it is always exciting receiving beautifully wrapped parcels in the post!

This week I bought...

Embellished Collar dress - £65 Asos

I saw this dress in purple on Caroline Flack on the Xtra Factor a couple of weeks ago and instantly fell in love with it so when I found it on the ASOS website I immediately added it to my wishlist! I bought the black version because I think it’s the perfect Christmas party dress. I absolutely love the embellishment around the shoulders and the collar and I think it looks a lot more expensive than the £65 it cost. The open back is gorgeous too!

Now I can't wait for the Christmas parties to begin so I have the perfect excuse to wear it!

xo Hannah xo

Handmade Shabby Chic Hanging Hearts

Sorry I haven’t posted for a couple of days, been super busy with my new job. I just wanted to start todays post with a big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and comment on my blog. The comments left for my Happiness is… post really put a smile on my face and I really appreciate the kind words :)

Over the last few days I’ve been feely pretty creative and crafty and decided to make something for my new room when I finally get around to redecorating and so I made these shabby chic inspired hanging hearts.

The picutre doesn't really do the purple colour justice - it's not as dark in real life as it looks in this picture. They were really easy to make and didn't cost a lot either. I have written a quick description of how I made them below if anybody is interested.

I have decided that I want my room to be painted cream/ivory but with one side a rich plum purple a bit like this room.

Image from WeHeartIt.com

How I made the hanging hearts

You will need:

3 big hearts (I bought these from a local craft store but you can get similar ones on ebay for really reasonable prices, like these)

• The little hearts I bought from this seller on ebay

• 2 colours of acrylic paint. I chose Violet and Sand Reeves paint which cost £1.99 each for 75ml but I hardly used any so you could probably buy smaller tubes for cheaper.

• Paint brush
• Superglue

I painted each heart with about 3 layers of paint. When they were dry I simply stuck a little heart in the centre with super glue. To make the dots on the purple heart I used the other end of the paint brush. Simple!

I think they will make cute little Christmas presents so if anyone is interested and wants some making, I might put some on ebay. What do you think?

I still have loads of paint left and some little hearts so thinking of making a garland to hand around my mirror. Will post a picture of it when it's finished!

Hope everyones having a good week.

xo Hannah x0

Autumn Days Are My Favourite Days

Happy Bonfire Night!

I can’t quite believe it’s November already – this year is going scarily fast!

Just got back from my local firework display. I was looking forward to wrapping up warm and going to see some amazing fireworks with my family as it was the first time I’ve actually gone to see some in real life for a few years rather than just stood in my window! I’m now sat curled up in my pyjamas watching the X Factor – perfect!

Now that it is Bonfire night, and we’re in the heart of Autumn, I thought I would dedicated a post to why autumn days are my favourite.

Of course I love summer and the sun and it does tend to make me feel better when the sun is shining, but there are things about autumn in this country which are really special and I love it!

1)     Autumn Colours - oranges, reds and browns

2)    Falling Leaves

3)    Warm boots

4)    Chunky knit scarves

5)    Long walks in a park with the sun shining and the crisp air

6)    Sat by a warm fire

7)    Layering

8)    Cosy knitted socks

9)    Long hot baths

10)  Snuggly warm beds with extra blankets

11)  Afternoons spent in little cafes drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows

12) Cute squirrels

13) Fireworks, bonfires and sparklers



All images from WeHeartIt.com



I could have added so many more pictures. WeHeartIt.com is so addicting and I can spend hours just scrolling through all the beautiful pictures that are on this site.

What reminds you of autumn?

xo Hannah xo

Happiness is... (Part 1)

I’ve been feeling pretty low for the last few days. I haven’t really talked about this with anyone before but I have been suffering from depression and anxiety for almost two years now, and whilst I do feel better on a whole now than I did in my final year of university, I still do have my very bad days where I feel so down I don’t want to get up or go anywhere or generally do anything.

Therefore I thought it would be nice today for a post of things that make me smile so that when I am having my down days I can look at these to help. I saw this post on Sophias Journal blog (check it out if you haven’t already) and thought I would do something similar but focusing on things that make me happy each week.



This week happiness is…

1. Cuddled up in bed with a good book

2. A hot deep bubble bath

3. Candles

4. My favourite song coming on the radio

5. Getting exciting parcels and letters in the post

6. Watching re-runs of The Hills

7. New shoes

8. New nail varnish

9. Cupcakes

All images from WeHeartIt.com

10. Running

What is happiness for you?